I have to be truthful but I found these the worst two episodes since the series came back in 2005. Even 'Love And Monsters' was better...at least that had ELO!

Every single part of the story was ripped off from previous (classic) episodes...was I the only person who couldn't guess EVERYTHING that was going to happen? It was just so much filler...it couldn't even have filled 30 minutes, never mind 90.

Amy is just so annoying as well. It seems that, once again, the universe as we know it is revolving around a companion. BORING!!!

I'll stop now as I'm starting to sound like Chase...but this really was crap!

It's funny, I was not too keen on the "The Hungry Earth". I didn't find it bad but just very average with the sense that I had seen it all before. This episode, however, I really, really enjoyed. Although I agree that there were many elements which had been reused from previous Silurian episodes it didn't bother me at all as it really reminded me how unique the Silurians are as a species in Doctor Who and would struggle to think of another "monster race" that could have replaced them in a story like this! Unlike "The Hungry Earth" I found their culture extremely interesting, I liked the design of the city and I loved the diplomacy scenes where a deal was almost brokered! I am also delighted that the story has been left open for a sequel and am eager for the Doctor to return a thousand years later to be reunited with the two humans who stayed behind and to finally see peace between the two races, something that he has been trying to arrange since he first encountered them eight regenerations ago. I hope they don't let this storyline go as there is much potential in it!

Matt Smiths Doctor was also very different here taking a back seat to the negotiations, just guiding the two species in the right direction but ultimately letting them try to sort things out themselves and it was only due to the mothers actions that he had to step in and sort out the humans mess. In previous stories Matt Smith has reminded me of the second and fourth Doctors most of all but in this one he truly reminded me of Davison. Maybe it was his passiveness when talking to Rory over the communications... not sure what it was but there was something which struck a fifth Doctor "chord".

Karen Gillan shone, once again, as Rory died... once again! I suspected that this might happen but I was still shocked when it did. Like Comedy Whirlwind though, I too, am certain that Rory will be back in the finale. A Crack in Time means anything is possible and anybody can return although I am not sure whether I want him to or not.

The remains of the TARDIS which the Doctor pulled out of the crack is intriguing. Whereas I am sure that it will explode (possibly as the cliffhanger to episode twelve) I am also sure that it will be intact by the end of episode thirteen... Having said that, it would be brave of Moffat to maybe have a few episodes next year without it! I would like that as long as it is handled better than Big Finishes Divergent universe. Hand on heart though... I don't see that decision being made. I just hope that by the end of episode thirteen a huge reset button hasn't been hit. That would upset me and would make me cry... a lot!!!

I gave last weeks episode a 2/5 as it didn't grab me. This one certainly did and raises this story to a 4/5. Possibly 5/5. Not as good as the previous two parter but still extremely enjoyable! I have said it before, and will probably say it again. This season so far has been amazing and for sheer consistancy has blown any one season of RTD's out of the water. That's not saying there hasn't been better episodes in RTD's era but for me, there hasn't been a disasterous episode this season and quality has ranged from average to great! Steven Moffat (so far) is rewarding our trust!!!

Why, oh why, oh why can they not leave well enough alone? Why does there need to be, as Moffat said in the Confidential, a "sacrifice"? What was wrong with having a male companion? I liked Rory. It looked like he was starting to get a backbone. Why kill him? And not just kill him, but erase him. Of course, he isn't really erased. We can just go back and watch the earlier eps and, oh look, there he is!

OTHER THAN that, it was a particularly good episode. A nice conclusion to the build up of part 1. I'm glad they had not all the Silurians hell bent on wiping out the human race. In fact, it looked like it was just the warrior class. Pleasing to see that kind of dimensionality in a non-human race. You don't usually get that in visual SF, mostly only in printed-page SF.

I loved the Doctor asking for celery after they tried to decontaminate him, the 5th being my Doctor. Also, that it was two WOMEN negotiating for the future of the human race. Murry Gold's score was quite well done. That horn work when the warriors march in, very Star Trek fight scene. Excellent. And quiet background music under the dialog. He's learning.

All-in-all, the story was very good. Silurians sleep for another 1000 years. We teach our children this "legend". Really felt like an old episode. Right up until the end when the crack came back and Rory died. 4.5/5 TARDIS groans. Rory's fate was really the ketchup on my cake.

Starting to sound like me indeed. I was set to give this an 8 out of 10 but a few things annoyed me that almost ruined the whole thing. I can accept Rory's death. Not the move I would have made but there you have it. What I find very annoying is that his death is really the Doc's fault. Yeah. He stops to look at the crack and pull something out which gives the Silurian B&^$h enough time to catch up with them and he stops in the middle of an impending disaster AND he sees the Silurian B&^%h and has time to explain what's happening to her but then...not stop her. He should have stopped her immediately but the fact remains that he wouldn't have had ROry there if he, Amy and Rory just niped into the TArdis.

Another thing that annoys me is that the Doc is ponificating when he destroyed all of Gallifrey adn thousands of other worlds so he's telling this woman that protecting her family by killing another B&^%H silurian that deserved it that she was not better. Was he? Hasn't he killed over and over and over again? He's such a hyprocite or blind or naive. Then when it's time to go he's more worried about the TARDIS than Rory.

The reason others felt a 5th Doc vibe is several things: One: this is a slight remake of WARRIORS and a major remake of SILURIANS AND the SEA DEVILS. He talks about celery, he says Must Dash, and things like "Not Today." He does seem very Davison here and he hugs...something I think Davison might have done (to Adric? To Tegan at least once I think and Nyssa in her leaving ep). And he talks on a monitor which both the second Doc and fifth Doc did at least twice EACH!

The rest is well done (bsides a hypocrite Doctor, a remake of the Silurians and the stoppage just so Rory can die and what a downer that all is). THe music is grand and great. The sets are NOT wobbly as someone said above someplace and the urgency and tension felt. The effects are good, the cgi is great and there's not much to complain about. OH but one more thing to complain about: Karen Gillian JUST CAN'T ACT. The story loses point just for her. EVERY scene she's in is almost a shambles ruin thanks to her. She can't emote fear, can't emote tension, can't emote love and fear and caring. SHe's just awful. SHE IS the worst actress or actor to play any companion. She's just terrible.

I admit I thought the old man was going to turn into a Silurian but I thought he would be the one to make peace and/or replace the dead Silurian B*&^H. That didn't happen and oh, NO ONE ahead of time could predict Rory was going to die so anyone who said they predicted the thing is probably lying. In any event, the whole thing could have done without Rory's death or at least it being so badly staged AND could have done with the crack thing that delayed the characters so Rory could die. In fact, the crack thing could have been totaly absent. I think that the arc stuff is ruining DW now. There DOES NOT have to be an arc for the show to be interesting. I can't even recall trhe scenes to next week and that says something.

Okay so DW is OLD, really OLD but it should be doing different things. One of those things is to fire the lead actress, sh'es just the worst.

In any event, this season might go either way. We've had a terrible opening episode, an illogical second story, a Dalek story that is static and uninvolving and slow moving with no action, a fair fourth 42 min, followed by the conclusion to the fourth episode--an awful poorly acted, poorlly directed, poorly scripted fifith episode, a GREAT Amy's Choice (the only time Karen was fair to good), a solid Silurian first parter and a shakey SIlurian conclusion but not terrible (6 out of 10). The rest seems that it might tip toward great or very bad...Oh and Matt needs to get a better hair style and outfit. TARDIS interior still looks putrid and those opening credits still suck big time.

Granted this is the 9th episode of the season but one thing we've seen in 'Doctor Who' is a lot being packed into a small amount of time.

I think I'm starting to put the pieces together and what the Doctor pulled out of the crack is making me think I'm on the right track. I won't say more but, I think time is going to be in flux until this season ender... - unless it's going to continue into the next season, as I've heard rumored.

The fact that the crack is everywhere they go has to have something with their future AND past.

I enjoyed the classic feel to the story, but felt the story in general was boring and unoriginal...aliens wanting to wipe out humanity and take over the earth. Sound familiar?

- It was predictable too...anybody really not expect somebody to die after Doc 11 said that nobody would?

- I have to agree with the others that Amy's annoying factor is going up rapidly. I was supportive of her early on, but not recently.

- Matt Smith, on the other hand, is great.

- Unfortunate to see Rory go, but I suspect that's not the last we'll see of him. It was good to have a companion that wasn't terribly annoying, and actually had some worthwhile skill to bring to the table, as a nurse. The killing of the Silurian hostage wasn't a shocker, but I really half expected Rory to save her and keep her alive.

- I was going to give kudos to Moffat for having the stones to actually kill off somebody relevant from the show, but I don't think Rory will stay dead. fwiw I wasn't really moved by his death scene either. Something about it just didn't seem genuine.

- The crack is starting to intrigue me more and more. Obviously we're expected to believe something bad is going to happen to the TARDIS. We can only hope this isn't true, since it'll involve him probably being stuck in 1 place for an extended period, once again a la Doc 3, and more than likely it'd be Earth I fear.

I'd say 2, maybe 2.5, out of 5. Consistently average season but I have yet to be blown away by any single story. We've still got a few episodes left, so I've got my fingers crossed.

This two parter didn't grab me, at all. I rewatched Vampires in Venice and really liked it the 2nd time around, so I thought I'd try that with this one. No dice. It definitely had it's moments, but overall I was severly underwhelmed. 2 stars out of 5? I hope next week's episode is back up to snuff.

Cheers,

- C!

"I collect stars, but I keep them in the sky because I just don't have the space at home." - Warren Ellis